There Are No Kangaroos in Austria

VIENNA--It is really cold here! I don't think any of us were expecting this kind of weather; it's been fun to pick out clothes each morning.

We started Tuesday with a city tour, a little bus ride around town followed by some walking. There are lots of beautiful buildings, particularly the palace, the museum complex, and the many churches that line the streets. I generally tend to use "the big steeple" as a landmark in any neighborhood, but it's not possible here...there are too many of them.

We didn't do anything too musical in the morning, but we did walk the same streets that were once home to Beethoven and the boys. Beethoven is sort of like George Washington is in America; if it's a building, he probably slept there at some point in his life. During his time in Vienna Beethoven moved 67 times; the dude covered a lot of ground while he was here!

We were given a few hours of liberty in the afternoon, so everybody spent their time in different ways. Some shopped. Ok, many shopped. Some toured St. Stephen's Cathedral (myself included) while others went through the Imperial Palace. The Lippazaner stallions are also trained here, and a few people went through their school and stables.

We met in front of the church and walked to the House of Music. This is a hands-on museum, and it explores music by combining physics and arts. One of the floors discusses soundwaves and frequencies, while another goes through the brief biographies of the major Viennese composers.

Dinner was chicken schnitzle, another delicious soup, and apple strudel. Mr. K gave us the chance to walk around town some more and spend the evening sightseeing a bit, but we were cold and tired so nearly all of us came back to the hotel and played cards.

Wednesday morning we had free time again. Same story--we all explored different options, including a few folks who chose to wash their clothes. Two pairs of jeans get grubby fast! This afternoon we all went through the Mozart House. Mozart lived in this house for a few years, including the time that he composed Don Giovanni. The guided tour is full of little-known facts and wonderful musical excerpts. It was so cool to look out a window and know that we were seeing the world the same way he did 250 years ago.

We hiked over to the Votive Church next, the site of tonight's performance. The church is lovely and still in use. We were lucky enough to be able to rehearse briefly before dinner, which turned out to be very important. It's a big space and we needed to get used to the acoustics; like our museum venue in Prague, we had trouble with echoes. But not too much trouble...we received a standing ovation from an audience of about 140!

I forgot to mention dinner tonight. It was...er...interesting. Coach Rivers would call it "curious." It was a crepe stuffed with spicy ground beef that was kind of a cross between marinara sauce and chili. The highlight of the evening was that it was the first time in this trip that we've gotten salad as part of our meal. A very tasty treat!

Happy birthday to Matt Burcham and happy belated to Lura Blumenfeld. They received chocolate cake complete with sparklers tonight! And now it's time to pack, savor the last few hours in Vienna and prepare for a long time on the bus tomorrow.